beevomav
V.I.P.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2011
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The game was October the 12, 1968. I was fresh out of the Army and about to see my first game in two years. Little did I know I would see the start of greatness.
Texas entered the game 1-1-1, losing to Texas Tech, tying Houston and beating Okie state. OU was not much better. They got blasted by Notre Dame and beat North Carolina.
The Tech game was the actual start of the Wishbone. Bill Bradley had been running it, but he kept screwing it up. With Tech leading 28-7 Coach Royal had seen enough. He put Street in and uttered those now famous words.
Besides a change at QB, Royal and Bellard made one other subtle change. They realized Steve Wooster, the fullback, was too close to the QB, so they moved him back about a half yard. The moves paid big dividends. Street, unlike Bradley, allowed the game to come to him and Wooster became the best fullback in the nation.
Texas moved the ball at will that day but continued to make mistakes. OU led at halftime 14-6. The talented Longhorn backfield took over in the second half. Chris Gilbert, Ted Koy, Steve Worster and James Street were hard to contain.
The first play was made by Texas defensive lineman Lloyd Waniscott. He stripped OU QB Bob Warmack. Worster took it in from the two and Gilbert added a run for the two point conversion to tie the score at 14 all.
The next time UT had the ball, my favorite all time name, Happy Feller kicked a 53 yard field goal, that bounced off the goal post and over for a 17-14 Longhorn lead. Warmack, the defensive star of the game, then sacked Warmack for a safety and the lead stretched to 19-14.
OU then moved 77 yards to go up 20-19, after a missed two point conversion. Texas would follow with a drive and a score to go up 26-20. OU ran out of time at the Texas 20, and a great game was over with a Texas win.
Worster ended the 1968 OU game with 121 yards on only 14 carries.
So much came from that OU game. A new offense, that would take over the country, a huge hit of confidence for the team that would stretch over for years. That game and the changes made by Coach Royal and Emory Bellard helped take a UT program out of mediocrity for the past three years, and I got a front row seat in the end zone.
The Wishbone would also be the undoing of Texas.
Coach Royal, an OU grad, helped Chuck Fairbanks and his assistant Barry Switzer with tips to set up the offense. Switzer said later on that he would call Royal and coach Bellard for tips from time to time. Bellard would later relay his hesitancy in helping OU, but Coach Royal said he wanted to help. To which Bellard said:
Texas entered the game 1-1-1, losing to Texas Tech, tying Houston and beating Okie state. OU was not much better. They got blasted by Notre Dame and beat North Carolina.
The Tech game was the actual start of the Wishbone. Bill Bradley had been running it, but he kept screwing it up. With Tech leading 28-7 Coach Royal had seen enough. He put Street in and uttered those now famous words.
This was not an easy decision for Coach Royal. Bill Bradley, nicknamed "Super Bill," was the one of the highest profile recruit in school history. His problem seemed to be the pressure put on him as a high profile recruit. He ran the Bone well in practice but stunk it up in games, mainly because he tried to put the team on his back and make a big play on every down.
Besides a change at QB, Royal and Bellard made one other subtle change. They realized Steve Wooster, the fullback, was too close to the QB, so they moved him back about a half yard. The moves paid big dividends. Street, unlike Bradley, allowed the game to come to him and Wooster became the best fullback in the nation.
Texas moved the ball at will that day but continued to make mistakes. OU led at halftime 14-6. The talented Longhorn backfield took over in the second half. Chris Gilbert, Ted Koy, Steve Worster and James Street were hard to contain.
The first play was made by Texas defensive lineman Lloyd Waniscott. He stripped OU QB Bob Warmack. Worster took it in from the two and Gilbert added a run for the two point conversion to tie the score at 14 all.
The next time UT had the ball, my favorite all time name, Happy Feller kicked a 53 yard field goal, that bounced off the goal post and over for a 17-14 Longhorn lead. Warmack, the defensive star of the game, then sacked Warmack for a safety and the lead stretched to 19-14.
OU then moved 77 yards to go up 20-19, after a missed two point conversion. Texas would follow with a drive and a score to go up 26-20. OU ran out of time at the Texas 20, and a great game was over with a Texas win.
Worster ended the 1968 OU game with 121 yards on only 14 carries.
So much came from that OU game. A new offense, that would take over the country, a huge hit of confidence for the team that would stretch over for years. That game and the changes made by Coach Royal and Emory Bellard helped take a UT program out of mediocrity for the past three years, and I got a front row seat in the end zone.
The Wishbone would also be the undoing of Texas.
Coach Royal, an OU grad, helped Chuck Fairbanks and his assistant Barry Switzer with tips to set up the offense. Switzer said later on that he would call Royal and coach Bellard for tips from time to time. Bellard would later relay his hesitancy in helping OU, but Coach Royal said he wanted to help. To which Bellard said:
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